Dark Hearts
by hoursisthefury
Summary: When Riku realizes that he sees Sora much more than a friend, he is torn between his head and his heart and turns to Demyx for help. What he doesn't realize, however, is that he may have created a new problem in itself. (Narrated by Riku)
1. A Friend in the Night

_He had given me chances, and I had thrown them back in his face like they were garbage. Like _he _was garbage. I couldn't have been more wrong…_

I tossed and turned on my hard white lump of a bed, desperately trying to fall asleep. "What do they even make these things out of?" I mumbled into my pillow. "Rocks?"

I tried to lie still, but gave up seconds later, springing out of bed and beginning to pace across the slick grey floors of my room in Castle Oblivion. No use trying to sleep now, when all that I could do was think.

_ You idiot! Why didn't you realize this sooner?_ I berated myself. _Now, you've probably gone and blown it. Sora won't trust a word you say now. _My pacing increased in tempo. _How could you be so stupid?_

A knock on the door interrupted my frenzied pacing. "Quiet down in thee, will you?" Demyx said blearily, sticking his head in the doorway. His spiked hair was flattened from sleeping on one side. "SOME of us are trying to sleep here." He yawned, not even bothering to be polite and hide his mouth behind his hand.

"Sorry," I admitted sheepishly, before reverting back to my usual cold façade that I put up for everyone. "I was just… thinking."

"Girl problems or something?" Demyx yawned again. "That's the sort of thing that always kept me up at 3 am."

"Of… of a sort," I said, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. "Nothing too big. You don't have to worry."

Demyx raised an eyebrow. "Yet you woke me up two rooms down the hall just from _pacing_. I think I have the right to be slightly worried. You're lucky that Axel sleeps like a rock, or he'd have fried you to bits a long, long time ago."

I chuckled softly. "Yeah, I suppose that's something to be thankful for." I sat down on the edge of my bed. "But yeah, nothing too big. Just beating myself up mentally and the like."

Demyx laughed too. "Mind if I come in?" he asked. "Maybe I could give you some advice or something. I don't know if I'd be of much help, though. At the very least, you wouldn't wake anyone _else_ up with your annoying pacing."

I shrugged. "Sure," I said. "Although I'm not that great of company myself." I cleared a spot across from me on the bed, and Demyx plopped down on it with a thunk.

"Man, I hate these mattresses," he groaned, rubbing his backside. "I mean, Xemnas must have been way too cheap when he bought furniture from this place. Or he just… likes really hard mattresses?"

The image of Xemnas shopping at an IKEA popped into my head, and I stifled a laugh. "I should buy a couch," I thought aloud. "It would make a better bed than what I have now."

Demyx grinned. "Then, my friend, you'd be the most popular man in the castle. Give me first dibs on the couch when you buy it, okay?" He flopped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling and the drawings from Namine that I had taped there. "So, what was it that's gotten you so angry at yourself?"

"Well, um," I fidgeted with the hem of my coat. I usually wasn't this upfront with people, and this whole conversation was scaring me. "It's about Sora." _There! _I thought to myself. _You said it._

"Oh, that kid!" Demyx laughed. "He can be a bit clueless sometimes, but he's good with a Keyblade, that one, right?" He pointed to a drawing of me and Sora on the ceiling, and I nodded. "He probably thinks I'm an idiot," Demyx continued. "What about him?"

I took a deep breath. "He gave me second chances, and I blew them. And I ruined the third chances too, and the fourth, and the fifth, and—"

"Why does this matter to you?" Demyx cut right to the point. "You never really cared about being nice to him before. You always wanted to leave him behind."

"I know!" I snapped. "It's just… well, now things are different." I could feel a blush creeping into my cheeks. "Never mind," I added sullenly.

An impish smile crept onto Demyx's face. "Oh," he said suggestively, raising both eyebrows. "So _that's _the problem."

"Shut up!" I could feel my face continuing to redden. "Don't tell a soul, you hear? Otherwise, I'll… I'll… mess up all the tuning on your sitar!" It was a weak threat, and I knew it.

Demyx laughed. "It's okay, bro," he said. "I'm cool with whatever. See you in the morning." He quickly stood up from the bed and looked at me one more before walking out the door.

I lay back on my bed, trying to figure what was wrong with Demyx's face. Something was off, but what? Then it hit me. _His eyes are always smiling, _I realized. _But they weren't, just now. They looked… in pain._


	2. A Bad, Bad Day

I woke up to my alarm blasting the radio at me. "All right, all right, I'm up," I mumbled, staggering across the room to shut off the infernal device. As I slammed my hand down on the off button, I noticed something clenched in my fist. Walking over to my door, I flattened out the crumpled piece of paper that I had fallen asleep holding. Looking at it, I smiled slightly. It was a drawing of Sora and I sitting together on Destiny Islands, watching the sunset.

A couple of seconds later, I ripped the drawing in half and flung the two pieces towards the trash can. "Who do I think I'm kidding?" I spat to myself, stalking out the door. "Being sentimental gets you nowhere." I slammed the door shut behind me so hard that the walls shook. Today was not going to be a good day, I just knew it. Stumbling down the hall, I pulled a stale bagel from the pocket of my coat and began munching on it. Sure, we had a perfectly serviceable breakfast buffet, but that meant facing _Nobodies_, and that wasn't something I felt even remotely capable of in such a bad mood.

A gloved hand slammed down onto my shoulder. "Good morning, Riku," Xigbar said with a grin. "The day's treating you well, I hope? Is that bagel tasty? Can I have a bite?"

I groaned internally. "Morning, Xigbar," I said, not even trying to sound polite. "The bagel is two days old. I doubt you'd want it." I took another bite and chewed. "So, why are you even talking to me, again?" I knew that my disgust of Xigbar was clear, and that was exactly how I wanted it to be.

Xigbar didn't even flinch. "Saix said we're partners today for Heartless hunting in the World that Never Was. Exited?"

"Very," I replied coldly, sounding anything but. "Ready to get this over with?" I didn't enjoy any of the Organization work, but it gave me something to do and a place to sleep at night. Even if the mattresses were terrible.

Xigbar shook his head. "I still need breakfast. Why don't you come with me and throw that disgusting bagel away? Come on."

I begrudgingly followed Xigbar, since his tone had made it very clear that I didn't have much of a choice. _Ugh,_ I thought to myself. _I hate Nobodies. Or at least most of them. Demyx is okay, and so is Axel, but all the others are terrible. Roxas would be okay if he wasn't so naïve. He's just as bad as—_

As Xigbar opened the doors to the buffet hall, a wall of sound blasted us, interrupting my train of thought. Judging from the noise, Demyx must've decided to give another one of his "concerts". Sure, he was a good musician, but he had no sense of how loud to set his speakers. Today, his playing nearly blew out my eardrums, and I clamped my hands over my ears as fast as possible in an attempt to save myself.

_Follow me, _Xigbar mouthed, pointing towards the buffet line. I followed him as fast as I could, desperate to escape the direct blast of Demyx's sitar-playing. Even facing the others would be better than having blood streaming out my ears due to noise damage.

I filled my pockets with bagels and joined Xigbar at a table with Marluxia, Zexion, and Larxene. As I sat down, Larxene brushed her arm against mine and sent a painful electric charge through my right side. "Sorry," she said with an impish grin, barely audible over the music. I glared at her and scooted a few inches away. See? This was why I hated the others.

We all sat and ate without speaking to each other until Demyx finished. As soon as he walked out, Marluxia breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God that's over," he moaned. "I should really fix his speakers one night. Set them so that they can't play above volume 8."

"I threatened to mess up the tuning on his sitar last night," I offered cautiously. "Want me to act on that?"

Zexion glared at me. "He'd still play loud; it would just be out of tune. That would be even worse." He went back to his stack of pancakes, still looking as though he wanted to murder me. Of course, the feeling was mutual, so I wasn't expecting anything kinder.

I looked at the clock at the wall. "Xigbar, we'd better get going. Finish up eating or I'll leave without you." I just wanted to get out of Castle Oblivion—I really did hate the place. And the people. And the mattresses.

"Fine!" Xigbar shoved the rest of his eggs into his mouth and began chewing frantically. "See? Done!"

"Okay, let's leave then." I opened a shadow portal to the World that Never Was, and Xigbar followed me, waving to the others as he left. None of them waved back.

Xigbar immediately began bounding after Heartless with a manically pleased look on his face. _Great,_ I thought to myself. _I knew today was going to be bad… now I'm stuck with this knife-obsessed nutcase. Thanks, Saix. You've really made my day. _

I followed him, picking up the Hearts that remained after the creatures were killed. It was boring work however, and before long, my heart really wasn't into the task.

_You know what? You deserve a free day,_ said a voice from the back of my mind. _You haven't had vacation for a while, and you barely got any sleep last night. Xigbar will just be happy that you're gone._

Taking only a split second to think, I dashed toward a side alley when Xigbar wasn't looking. Spotting the nearest fire escape, I began to climb up the side of a skyscraper. There were always really cool views from the tops of the megalith buildings.

Reaching the top of the building, I took a look ahead of me and froze, my Keyblade silently appearing in my hand. Two figures were standing near the edge of the building. One was obviously Saix, but I couldn't recognize the other. Then, as he turned, my heart nearly stopped. What was Sora—_Sora_, of all people—doing here, less than a mile from the headquarters of the Organization?

_This day just can't get any worse. _


	3. Rooftop Faceoff

I stared in horror at the duo facing off on the rooftop. _Why… why is Sora here? And what is he doing with Saix?_ I slipped on my hood before they could recognize me and watched in silence.

Sora's usually smiling face was hardened into a glare. "Saix, you lied to me," he spat. "You said you'd give me answers about the Nobodies, and about Kingdom Hearts, but you haven't told me anything."

Saix laughed—a bone-chilling sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "You're still as naïve as I remember. What _ever_ made you think that I would tell you anything?" He snapped his fingers, and his claymore appeared in his hand. "No, this whole setup was a trap. Duh."

"Not again," Sora groaned. "I'm sick of fighting you, Saix. You know I'll just win every time. Why do you even keep on trying?'

Saix shrugged. "Your luck is bound to run out sometime," he said with a smirk. "Why not now? It's worth a shot."

"And then you'll just vanish into your shadow portal as soon as you start to lose," Sora pouted. "How about this time, we fight fair?"

Saix raised an eyebrow. "And somehow, in your perfect little world, you think I'll agree to that? You pitiful fool. Why the Keyblade chose such an idiot is a mystery to me."

Sora lunged toward Saix, his Keyblade flashing in a flurry of blows. "It chose me 'cause I'm a hero!" he spat. "Not some blue-haired coward like you!"

I winced internally. Saix was _very_ sensitive about his hair.

Saix dodged out of the way at the last second. "A hero?!" You're no more a hero than I am a real person!"

"You're wrong!" Sora jumped at Saix in another attack. "Phil said that Donald, Goofy and I were all junior heroes."

Saix stopped suddenly, getting stunned by Sora's Firaga spell in the process. "Phil? You're spouting nonsense. Why does this 'Phil' matter?"

Sora stopped too, putting his hands on his hips. "You mean that you've never heard of Phil?"

Saix shook his head.

"The bona fide trainer of heroes?"

Another shake.

"The guy who trained Hercules?

"Well, I know Hercules but—why does this matter, anyways?" Saix swung at Sora with his claymore, which Sora blocked with a _clunk_. "Why are we talking about Hercules?"

"Because you asked about Phil!" Sora was clearly frustrated. "That's why!"

Just then, Saix spotted me out of the corner of his eye. "Come and help me!" he called while blocking another of Sora's attacks. "Don't just stand there!"

I shrugged. "You seemed to be doing just fine," I replied, trying to deepen my voice as much as possible. I didn't want either of them to recognize me. "I didn't want to take the glory."

"Fine, fine," Saix seethed. "Continue watching if you want." Saix was prideful, and he knew it.

Sora glanced over in my direction for a second, and I turned away quickly. _He can't recognize me. Then he'd just hate me even more._

I could hear the pair continuing to fight—Saix's insults mixing with Sora's retorts, all layered under the sound of their weapons clashing and the telltale crackles of Firaga and Blizzara spells. Occasionally, I would see a flash of green light, meaning that someone had used Cura. I was just about to give up and walk away when I heard a high-pitched scream that I knew belonged to Sora.

\

I spun around to see Sora dangling off the edge of the building by only his fingertips, with Saix standing a few feet away and grinning. "Looks like your luck _did_ run out this time, _hero_ boy," Saix leered. "I doubt that you'll be able to survive if you…. happened…. to fall."

Sora glanced down at the drop and quickly looked back up at Saix. "B-but the Organization needs me! To help complete Kingdom Hearts!" I could hear the desperation in his voice.

"Not anymore," Saix said with a grin, stomping on one of Sora's hands. Sora screamed again as his hand lost contact with the edge. The remaining fingers holding him on were turning white and bloodless as he struggled for grip.

"But Xemnas—told me—that I was necessary—" Sora gasped. "You can't just—kill me now—"

"Well, I just did," Saix laughed, and stomped on Sora's other hand.

Someone screamed. It might've been me, it might've been Sora, but before I even realized what I was doing, I had dived off the edge of the building to save him. My hood flew back from my face as I jumped.

Sora was in my arms, and we were falling, falling, falling, and he looked up at me, and asked, "I thought you hated me. Why save me now?"

And all I could think of was Demyx making fun of me, and I couldn't say a word as we hurtled towards the pavement below.


	4. How Was This Even Happening

I woke up with a splitting headache. "Oww," I moaned to myself as I tried to look around me, to no avail. I could barely lift my head. And nothing was looking right—the walls were blue instead of white, and why was this bed so comfortable?

"There's a reason that you're hurting so much, idiot," I heard Sora say from across the room. "You freaking jumped off a building, that's why."

_Sora? What's he doing here in Castle—_I thought, before I finally realized what had happened. _Right. I jumped off that skyscraper to save Sora. He must've survived and taken me someplace. _"Where am I?"

"We're back at Destiny Islands, in an old cabin I found." Sora walked over towards where Iwas lying. "I found that staying in our old house just brought back… memories."

Bad _memories, that's why,_ I thought to myself. _Sora's just too polite to say so in front of poor, injured me. How considerate._

I heard a scraping sound as Sora pulled up a chair next to my bed. "I still can't believe that you jumped off a building. I thought _I _was supposed to be the stupid one!"

That made me crack a smile. "Well, I suppose you've been dethroned, then." I tried moving my head again. "Hey, could you help me sit up?"

I felt Sora slip another pillow under my head as he pulled me upright. "There. Is that good enough?"

I nodded, finally able to look Sora up close since what seemed like forever. He looked older—I knew that both of us did, even if only by a few years. How much had he changed? How much had _I_ changed?

Sora put his hands behind his head. "So?" he asked casually. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Jump off a building. Riku, that's not like you! You always were impulsive, but that's just too far! I need answers."

My head was pounding even more than earlier. What the hell was I supposed to tell him? The truth? No way. _Think, Riku, think!_

"Uh, I just couldn't let you die like that," I stuttered out. "I mean, we grew up together, that means we're sort of friends, right? Friends don't kill other friends…" It was a lame excuse, and I knew it.

Sora raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. I was _not_ used to this strange, serious version of Sora. It was against the order of nature or something.

"So… how've you been?" I mumbled awkwardly, attempting to fill the silence. "Any exciting adventures?"

Sora shrugged. "Nothing much," he said. "Just trying to hunt down what the Organization is really doing. You couldn't tell me anything about that, could you?"

"Sorry, I can't," I said, staring down at my hands folded in my lap.

Sora laughed slightly. "Right. Sworn to secrecy or something?"

I shook my head. "Nah. It's just that the Organization never tells _me_ anything. Believe me, I'd tell you if I could." _Damn. Why'd I say that? I really must be the idiot Sora thinks I am._

"So why are you still with them, then?" Sora asked me. "I mean, it doesn't seem like you like them that much. Why not just separate and live on your own?"

"Free food," I admitted. "Probably the main reason. Although the other is that I wouldn't really know what to do with my life otherwise."

"Don't you have any goals? Ambitions? Anything?" Sora sounded exasperated. "I mean, there must be _something_ you want in your life, right?"

An image popped into my mind of Sora and I holding hands on a park bench and I felt my cheeks redden. "A… a few things," I mumbled, ducking my head down so that hopefully Sora wouldn't notice that very obvious blush covering my face. "How'd I end up here at Destiny Islands, anyways? How'd we end up surviving?"

"You took most of the blow for me when we landed," Sora explained. "I picked you up and flew back here in the Gummi Ship." He paused. "So, what about those ambitions? Stop trying to change the subject."

_Why is he suddenly so observant?_ I moaned internally to myself. "Do I _have_ to tell you?" I was starting to feel rather strange, almost dizzy. I could tell that I wasn't thinking straight. _Don't do anything you'll regret later, Riku. Your head must still be messed up from that nasty fall._

"Yes, you _do_ have to tell me," Sora persisted. "I'm curious now—you wouldn't be that mean and not tell me, right?"

But what I was thinking, and I what I was sure Sora was thinking too, was that I had done much, much worse. I had attacked Sora, hurt him, and turned my back on him God knows how many times when he needed my help. It wouldn't be that hard for me to just not tell him anything. Yet… _Think about what you're saying, idiot!_

"So, what are they?" Sora said after a minute or so of silence punctuated only by the distant sound of waves. He leaned over me, looking me dead in the eyes. "Come on, I want to know!"

"Well, I, um," I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath. My heart was pounding, and I was painfully aware of how close Sora was to me.

I looked directly at Sora, my aqua eyes meeting his blue ones. "This," I breathed out, reaching and pulling Sora closer to me. _What are you doing? Stop!_

I could see the alarm in Sora's eyes for a second, but then it changed, and his eyes softened. "Me too."

As Sora leaned forward, his lips brushed against mine, and my heart leaped in my chest. And then our mouths were touching, and his arms were wrapped around my neck, and we were kissing, really kissing, and _how was this even happening?_


	5. Somewhat of a Confession

A couple of seconds later, Sora pulled away from me, gasping for air. "I—I'm sorry," he stuttered, a blush covering his entire face. "That… that was uncalled for." He moved the chair he was sitting on a few inches away from my bed.

I was still in a state of mild shock. "No, um, it was my fault," I mumbled back, my face nearly as red as Sora's. We were both staring at the floor.

_What the hell did I just do?_ I yelled at myself. _No stupid decisions? Well, that helped. Not. How was I supposed to know that he would- he would… kiss me back?_

After five minutes of disgustingly palpable silence, Sora finally looked up. "Are… are we going to talk about it?" he whispered. "Or are we just going to forget what happened? He looked afraid, even more afraid than when Saix had knocked him off the rooftop. "I'm going to talk about it, even if you won't…" His voice was barely audible, but I still couldn't dare to meet his eyes.

"I'll talk, too," I mumbled, surprising even myself. What had happened? Sora was acting serious, I was becoming all touchy-feely… something was clearly wrong. But I had started something I couldn't stop. "I realized that I," I swallowed nervously, "—loved you a couple of weeks ago, and I regretted all the horrible decisions I had made that had somehow hurt you. So when I saw you on the roof, I thought that if I could just _help_ you somehow, make you _trust_ me..."

My voice trailed off. "I knew that I would do anything to make you at least not hate me. But I wasn't expecting—"

"Me to feel the same?" Sora interrupted. "I thought that you hated me! You never thought I was good enough. I felt like an idiot next to you." He reached out with a finger and lifted my chin so that I was looking at him straight on. "So what happened?"

My face felt electric where Sora was touching me. "I don't know," I muttered sullenly, suddenly feeling like a caged animal. "Let me go."

Sora dropped my chin, and I slid out of bed and to my feet as fast as I could. The world was swirling dizzily around me, but I stayed upright. "I need to go back to the Castle."

Sora looked up at me, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Okay," he said. "I'm assuming that I won't ever see you again, after what happened here." He ran out the door, leaving it swinging wildly behind him.

I stood in silence in the room for what seemed like forever, still trying to process what had just happened. _I tried to kiss Sora. He kissed me back. I told him too much of the truth, and he _asked_ me what happened, and I said no, and he ran off. And what even _did_ happen?_

I took a couple of deep breaths and summoned the shadow portal to Castle Oblivion. Hopefully Saix hadn't noticed that I was the one who had saved Sora, but he would be suspicious of everyone in the castle for the next few days. There would be a better chance of me seeming innocent if I went back.

As I stepped into the hallway of the Castle, a hand pulled me back by the hood into a side room. "Hey!" I snapped. "What are you doing? That hurt!"

"Shush," Demyx replied, sticking a hand over my mouth. "Stop being so loud, or the Dusks will notice you."

I pried Demyx's sweaty hand off of my mouth. "Dude, get _off_!" I lowered my voice. "Dusks? In the hallways? When did that happen?"

"Right after Saix got back from The World That Never Was, claiming that _someone_ in a black coat had jumped off a building to save Sora." Demyx looked at me pointedly. "Dude, how thick can you get? That's the sort of thing that gets you kicked out of the Organization… or worse!"

"Well, what if I don't _care_ about the Organization anymore?" I snapped. "And what was I supposed to do, let Sora die? After my lovely _heartfelt confession_ to you the other night?"

Demyx started laughing. "Riku, you crack me up. Come on." He shoved me back into the hall. "Saix isn't sure who saved Sora, so act the nice, obedient little soldier for a while and you'll look plenty innocent." He dragged me down the hall. "We're heading to dinner."

"Wait—Demyx, what day is it?" I asked as I stumbled after him. "How many days have passed since I went out on that assignment with Xigbar?"

"Two days have passed since then, but Saix only got back this morning, so you shouldn't seem too suspicious." Demyx opened the door to the dining hall. "You coming?"

"Two _days_?" I moaned. "Really? How more suspicious could I get? Demyx, he's going to kick me out right away. And even if we lie to him, none of the other Organization members will back me up!"

Demyx grinned. "Actually… that's already been arranged."

He walked over to the dinner buffet, and I followed. "How were you able to do that, Demyx? I mean, they _seriously_ hate me." I began loading up my plate with chicken and mashed potatoes—I hadn't realized how hungry I was until now.

"Well, apparently they hate it when I play in the cafeteria," Demyx drawled. "So I offered to not play in here for two months if they'll back you up."

I could've hugged Demyx. "You can be the smartest little idiot sometimes, Demyx."

Demyx shrugged. "I get that a lot. I wonder why?" He winked at me before striding off to join the others at their table.


	6. What the Heck is a Night Mission

I staggered up to my room in the castle after an extremely stressful evening. Thanks to Demyx's favor, the other Nobodies had backed me up when Saix was asking around, but I knew that Saix was watching me closer than normal. Hell, he probably even had cameras in my room, the creep.

Flopping down on my bed, I released the breath that I had been holding in all day. Alone at last, for the first time in what felt like forever. The whole day had just been nearly too much for me to take in. It didn't even feel like the same day that I had woken up at Destiny Islands in an unfamiliar bedroom.

I changed into my pajamas, turned off the light, and stumbled blindly to crawl under the covers of my uncomfortable bed. Staring up at the ceiling, I could barely make out some of the drawings on the ceiling. One was clearly of Sora, judging by the spiky hair I could faintly see on the figure in the drawing.

My mind drifted to thoughts of Sora. The way that he had held me, his fingers tracing swirls down my back, the girlish softness of his lips… I couldn't get it out of my head. How was I even supposed to sleep?

_I wonder if Sora can't sleep, either. Are those memories sticking in his head, too? _I rolled over to my other side. _Damn it, I just can't sleep. _

I heard a knock on my door. "Hello?" Demyx called, his voice muffled slightly through the walls. "Riku, are you in there?"

"Yeah," I called back. "What is it, Demyx?" I got to my feet and padded over to the door, opening it and peering out into the hallway. Demyx was standing there, wearing a black tank top and plaid linen shorts. Pajamas, I assumed.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd want to talk, that's all," Demyx said quietly. "About what happened two days ago, I mean. Why you jumped off the roof and all that."

I smiled slightly. "It's like you read my mind. Where do you want to talk?"

"How about the roof?" Demyx suggested. "There should be nice stars tonight, and there's always a nice breeze up there."

"Sure." I closed the door behind me as I followed Demyx down the hall and up several flights of stairs. We emerged upon the rooftop, where Demyx led me over to a railing on one side of the castle. He vaulted up onto it, sitting perched like an owl. I jumped up and joined him.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, the night air blowing cool against our skin. Finally, Demyx spoke. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

I considered for a second what to tell Demyx. He was my closest friend, after all, but how much should I really tell him? "Well, you know how I feel about Sora," I eventually said. "And Saix was going to kill him, so I jumped after Sora to save him. I woke up at Destiny Islands, since Sora had taken me there and healed me. We talked for a bit, and I left."

"I still can't get over how crazy you are, dude!" Demyx looked at me pointedly. "I mean, love makes people do crazy things, but still. Jumping off a building?" He laughed softly. "So, what did you two talk about?"

"He wanted to know the same things you do," I admitted. "He called me an idiot, jumping off a building, and he wanted to know why."

"So, what'd you tell him?" Demyx prompted eagerly. "I'm curious."

"The same thing I told you."

Demyx's eyes widened. "You told him the truth?" He pinched my arm. "Is this the real Riku? What happened to all the hiding and secrets? You're messed up, man! How'd he react?"

I blushed and looked up at the stars above me. "He just… looked surprised. And then I left a couple of minutes later." There. Not exactly a lie… just more of a half-truth.

"That's it?" Demyx looked sort of relieved. "Well, I suppose it's good that he didn't yell at you or anything, right?"

"Yeah. Very good." I stared out at the skyline for a few more seconds. "But today's just been an eventful day. I don't think that I could ever sleep."

A grin lit up Demyx's face. "Who needs sleep?" he chuckled. "No, sir, we're going on a night mission."

"Huh? Night mission?" I had never heard of a _night mission_ before. "What the heck is a night mission?"

"You're going to have so much fun!" Demyx crooned. "Night missions are like regular missions except harder and totally fun!" He was clearly a big fan of the whole ordeal. "Come on, I've already got one planned for tonight. We'll be taking out this HUGE Heartless somewhere in the city. It's rumored to be at least half as tall as some of the skyscrapers."

"Sure, I guess," I said rather reluctantly. "If you think it'll be fun…"

Demyx grabbed my hand and jumped off the edge of the building, pulling me with him. We landed at the base of the castle. "The best part is that you don't get partnered with annoying psychos like Larxene or Xigbar," Demyx grinned.

I cracked a smile. "This just sounded a whole lot better."


	7. Heartless Battle

Demyx and I ran down the streets, stopping every couple of blocks to check our surroundings for any signs of movement. We were looking for a giant Heartless. Apparently, it was supposed to be as tall as some of the shorter skyscrapers.

"You spotted anything yet?" Demyx called back to me as he peered down yet another alleyway. "There's no sign of the thing."

"It's giant, Demyx," I sighed. "I think we would've spotted it by now. Maybe Xemnas was just messing with us when he put this mission together."

"No, he's never put out a false night mission before." We turned another corner. "And I've had crazier-seeming missions before, trust me. There was one mission where I had to hunt down this one Heartless that would always disguise itself as a trash can. People thought I was crazy, running around attacking every trash can in sight."

I stopped. "Demyx, that's it!"

Demyx looked back at me. "Huh?"

"What if the reason we haven't seen the Heartless yet is because it's disguised as a building?" I walked over to the nearest skyscraper and poked it with my Keyblade. "Not this building, though."

Demyx sighed. "That makes sense. But now we'll have to backtrack." He looked back at the distance we had covered and moaned. "And my feet hurt, too."

I slapped him on the back. "Suck it up. You're the one who wanted to do the night mission, anyways." I tried poking another building. "Not this one."

"You know, we could do that a lot more efficiently," Demyx told me. "Watch." His sitar appeared in his hand. Demyx struck a chord, and send a shock wave blasting out from his instrument. Thankfully, I shielded myself in time, but the Heartless wasn't so lucky. A couple of blocks down, one of the buildings… shuddered.

"That's the one!" Demyx called, racing down the street towards it. "Hurry up, before it starts moving!"

I sped after Demyx. As I reached the building, it shuddered again, and then, with a loud sucking noise, two arms _popped_ out of the side of the building. One held a magic staff, the other a sword.

"That can't be good," I thought aloud. Then, I noticed one of the arms already beginning to twitch. "Demyx, move!"

Demyx jumped to the side, and the sword-arm slammed down where he had been only seconds before. "That was close," Demyx sighed. He turned to face me with a grin. "Ready to beat up this sucker?"

"Ready," I grinned back. I ran towards the Heartless, running partway up its side before flipping backwards and stabbing the thing. It howled in pain, and I landed in a crouch on the pavement. Demyx gave me a thumbs-up before beginning to hack away at the Heartless with his sitar.

The Heartless howled again, although this time it sounded more like a high-pitched screech. Hundreds of smaller Heartless appeared around us, already beginning to attempt to circle around me and Demyx.

"You attack the big guy, and I'll take care of them," Demyx yelled as he struck a power chord on his sitar. All the small Heartless in front of him disintegrated, only to have more take their place. "You're better at one-on-one than I am, anyways."

I gave Demyx a nod before vaulting up onto the side of the building again. I perched on a windowsill, trying to think of the best way to kill the thing. It had to have an obvious weak point _somewhere_. My musing was interrupted, however, by a Firaga spell racing towards me. It looked like the Heartless was casting spells at me now—a sure sign that I should hurry up.

As the sword-arm came swinging towards me, I jumped up on top of it at the last minute. The thing's arms looked considerably weaker than the rest of it, so at least that was a start.

The Heartless seemed to have realized it had a passenger, however, and began shaking the arm I was on wildly. It took all the strength I had to hang on and slowly crawl my way further up the arm.

Suddenly, the creature screeched again and stopped shaking the arm I was on. I heard Demyx laughing from the other side of the Heartless. "Take that, you selfish bastard!"

I smiled slightly, running up the rest of the length off the arm. Right where the arm met the building the Heartless's flesh glowed. Maybe this was its weak spot? I cautiously prodded the spot with my Keyblade, and the whole creature shook. _That's definitely it. _

"Whatever you did, do it again!" I heard Demyx yell. "A bunch of the smaller Heartless just disappeared. The big guy _hated_ it."

With a smile on my face, I began slashing away at the glowing flesh. The arm under me began to spasm wildly, but I kept hacking away. The Heartless began to wail—a bone-chilling sound that was even more terrifying than its massive size. I could tell that the sound was summoning more and more smaller Heartless, but I didn't dare stop to look around. The creature was badly wounded, but it still would be able to throw me off it if I stopped for even a second.

Suddenly, the creature froze, and I paused, put off-guard by the sudden cease of movement. _What's happening?_ I thought to myself. _Why isn't it moving anymore?_

The creature uttered one final, gut-wrenching scream as it began to shake. "Get off, Riku!" Demyx warned me. "The thing is going to fall!"

I sprung off from where I was standing on the Heartless and hit the pavement running. "Demyx, where are you?" I called. "This thing's going to cause an earthquake when it falls. We need to get someplace safe!"

However, I was met with no reply. "Demyx?"

As I turned the corner, I saw Demyx lying on the ground, bleeding heavily from a gash on his forehead. A circle of smaller Heartless were surrounding him.

"Get away from him!" I cried, slashing down the Heartless in my way and flinging Demyx up over my shoulder. The Heartless was really swaying, and I knew that I had to leave at once.

I opened up a shadow portal to my room at Castle Oblivion and dashed inside, the shadow of the toppling Heartless right behind me. Sighing in relief as the portal closed, I gently set Demyx down on my bed. His blood began to blossom on my all-white sheets.

_How am I going to help you, Demyx? _I started pacing around my room. _I can't fix an injury that bad with a simple Cure spell—not even a Cura or a Curaga would fix that._

Then the realization of who would be able to help hit me. "Oh, man," I groaned. "Not _Vexen_..."


	8. Zexion Was Right

I paced back and forth in front of Demyx's prone body. "Are you sure that you really can heal him?"

Vexen looked at me with an icy glare. "Yes, I'm sure. Now be quiet so that I can work. I'd tell you to get out, but you're such an idiot that I know you wouldn't listen to me."

"_Absolutely _sure?" I repeated. "Because I know you'll want the equivalent of a blood oath in favor for healing him. I… want to make sure it's worth the effort."

"I _will_ heal him, you worthless imbecile!" Vexen snapped. "Now stop pacing and asking stupid questions or I'll kick you out of this room for sure."

I stopped walking and leaned against the pale grey wall behind me, not bothering to apologize. Vexen wouldn't care, anyways. All he cared about were his silly experiments. And while Vexen was for sure the only one that could help Demyx, I knew for sure that I'd have to pay the price, probably by being a lab rat in Vexen's newest endeavor. Fun.

_Stop complaining,_ I mentally berated myself. _It'll be for a good cause. You couldn't just leave Demyx to die, right? He's your closest friend in all of the Organization._

Vexen took a couple of steps back from Demyx, brushing blood off of his hands. "There. Done. Demyx should wake up in a couple of hours."

A sigh of relief escaped my lips. "Good. He was bleeding so much… I wasn't sure that he would make it."

Vexen fixed me with another pointed glare. "I'm sick of you doubting me, Riku." He walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder, not even bothering to rinse off the dripping blood that was beginning to roll down his wrists. "So, in return for healing Demyx, I'd like a teensy-weensy little favor," he said, his voice dripping with false sincerity. "Come down here a couple of hours after Demyx wakes up, and I'll tell you what I want you to do."

I groaned internally. Part of me had been hoping that Vexen would let me off easy, but alas, that was not to be. I simply nodded my consent and gently picked up Demyx, cradling him in my arms. "I'll be down after breakfast, if that's alright."

Vexen gave me a snakelike smile and ushered me out the door. "That sounds _perfect_." He slammed the door shut, grazing the skin on my nose.

With Demyx curled up against my body, I began trudging up the basement stairs towards the top floor where Demyx and I had our rooms. Surprisingly, Demyx wasn't that heavy, which was nice, considered I'd have to climb up ten stories carrying him.

As I reached the third floor landing, I noticed Zexion leaning against a wall, reading a book. As I walked by, he looked up and smirked.

"Carrying your boyfriend up the stairs?" he leered. "Something is seriously wrong with you, Riku. If you really want to be a _true _Nobody, you should get rid of that heart of yours. Ask Vexen to cut it out for you or something."

"Demyx isn't my boyfriend!" A hot blush crept into my cheeks, defying my attempt to hide my embarrassment and anger. "Mind your own business, Zexion."

Zexion chuckled. "Demyx would certainly enjoy it if you were his boyfriend," he mumbled quietly, so quietly that I wasn't sure if I had heard him right. _Demyx? Wanting to be my boyfriend? I _must've _heard him wrong._

I reached the top floor and stumbled over to Demyx's door, shoving it open with my shoulder and practically dropping Demyx on the closest available surface, which turned out to be his coffee table. Oops. My arms were still burning and shaking slightly from the effort of carrying Demyx up the stairs though, so better to put Demyx on a coffee table than drop him on the floor.

Taking a deep breath, I swooped my arms under Demyx's torso and swiftly carried him to his bed before my arms collapsed yet again. I pulled down the blankets and tucked Demyx into the bed, pulling the comforter up to his chest and slipping a pillow under his head.

I pulled a chair up the bed, leaning against the side of the mattress. I knew that I couldn't let everything Zexion said to me get to my head, but his last comment disturbed me. In fact, his whole _conversation _disturbed me.

First of all, I still wasn't sure about Zexion's last comment. But if I hadn't misheard anything… _Is it true that Demyx actually loves me like that?_ My mind flashed to the night to when Demyx had paid me a midnight visit. He had looked so sad when he left. I had told him how I felt about Sora; that was it. So why had he looked so upset?

Then it hit me. _Demyx was jealous, and sad, too. Jealous that I loved Sora, and sad that I didn't love him. I'm such an idiot._

Just then, Demyx moaned and stirred slightly. I shot to my feet and rushed to his side. "Demyx, are you okay?"

Demyx moaned again, and his eyes fluttered. "Everything… hurts," he mumbled blearily. "Riku? Is that you?"

I smiled in relief. "Yeah, Demyx, it's me. You got hurt really bad by the Heartless, so I took you to Vexen, and he fixed you up."  
Demyx laughed, but it turned into more of a cough. "No way… that's real. I must be dead. Riku would never… go to Vexen for help."

"No, no, no!" I said, laughing, partly out of amusement and partly out of nervousness. "This _is _Riku. And you're plenty alive, Demyx. You're just healing."

"I don't trust you," Demyx whispered. "If I'm not dead, I hurt so much that I must be dying. So Riku, since I am dying, there's something… I want to tell you."

I sighed. "You're not dead. You'll be fine in a couple of hours."

Demyx lunged forward and grabbed my hand. "Riku, listen!" There was an urgency in his voice that unnerved me. "This is the last thing I'll ever say, so listen up." Tears were leaking uncharacteristically out of the corners of his eyes. What was this? Demyx _never_ cried.

"I hate Sora," Demyx coughed out, falling back onto his pillows but still holding my hand. "I hate him… because you love him. Does that make any sense?"

Demyx's confession made sense, all right. Suddenly feeling sick, I took a few stumbling steps backward. "I've got to go," I mumbled, head spinning. I practically ran out of Demyx's room, slamming into the hallway wall and slumping to the floor.

_No…. Zexion was right, damn him. This has all gone terribly, terribly wrong._

And with those words, I lost all self-control and hurled the contents of my stomach onto the white hall carpeting. How pleasant.


End file.
